


Suitcase Full of Sparks

by melroihag



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Adorable, CARMILLA WEARS GLASSES, Chivalry, F/F, FLUFFY FLUFFIN' FLUFF, Flirting, Hollstein - Freeform, gentlewoman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-18 23:27:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12398442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melroihag/pseuds/melroihag
Summary: Laura and Carmilla meet on a flight from New York to Sydney and find themselves completely captivated by each other.





	1. The Flight

**Author's Note:**

> Carmilla wearing glasses is something I need in my life, so in this fic she wears glasses.
> 
> This is a kind of random story, but I hope you enjoy..

Carmilla Karnstein did not fly well, despite the huge comfortable seats in first class, which was surprising for someone travelled a lot due to work commitments. On a flight from New York to Sydney for business reasons, she found herself growing more anxious by the second, so opted for ordering a drink as soon as the wheels left the tarmac.

Laura Hollis was on her way to Sydney from New York with her friend LaFontaine. LaFontaine’s grandmother was sick and they didn’t want to make the long trip alone, so their parents had paid for Laura to join LaF for the journey. LaF had closed their eyes to try and catch up on some much needed sleep as soon as they were in the air. Laura wasn’t in the mood for watching any films, so instead she walked the length of the plane, over and over and over again.

Carmilla was just about to put her headphones on when the plane jolted and a caramel-haired woman stumbled in the aisle, and fell into the spare seat next to her. Her arms shot out to steady the woman instantly.  
“Woah, are you okay?” she asked concerned.  
The young woman smacked her forehead off of the headrest as she landed in the vacant seat.  
“Oh man!” she groaned, her hand coming up to cover her head as she turned slightly and slid into the empty chair.  
“You alright there?” Carmilla asked again after a moment. A slight smirk coming to her lips as the golden-haired beauty uncovered her eyes and finally looked at her. 

Laura had never seen eyes as dark as these in her life. An audible gasp left her lips as she gazed at the stranger sat next to her. Long dark hair, glasses that framed dark brown eyes and a slight smirk that made her blush involuntarily.  
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! Is this seat taken?” she finally stuttered, shaking out of her own thoughts and glancing round frantically.  
An amused laugh left the mysterious stranger, as she placed her hand gently on Laura’s forearm, turning her back to look at her.“You’re fine. That seat isn’t taken.” she grinned now, making Laura’s stomach flip in a way that hadn’t happened before. 

Carmilla watched as the shorter girl’s cheeks grew an attractive shade of red.  
“Oh…” Laura’s voice stuttered slightly, before she cleared her throat and continued, “Good.” she said more breathily than she’d meant to, and a small shy smile spread on her lips.  
Carmilla found herself captivated by the woman beside her. The girl was a literal ray of sunshine. Her smile quite literally took the brunette’s breath away, making Carmilla’s heart beat just that little bit faster. She was definitely attracted to this woman and was usually able to tell a straight woman apart from the rest, but this girl was somewhat of an enigma for her, leaving her highly intrigued to find out more about her.

Laura glanced down slowly and her eyes widened at the amount of leg room she had, then as her eyes trailed over, it took in the sight of shot glasses sitting on the tray in front of the raven-haired woman beside her.  
“Drinking? Already? Isn’t it only like 10am?” she wondered aloud, her cheeks instantly reddening at her comment.  
Carmilla burst into laughter, pushing one of the glasses closer to the edge of the tray, for the blushing brunette to have.  
“It’s 6pm somewhere, right?” she winked and noticed as the woman bit her lip gently.  
“Right.” Laura nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to stop her from smiling so crazily at this woman.

“Carmilla.” she introduced herself, holding her hand out expectantly.  
Laura’s eyes darted down to the outstretched hand and back up to a dark eyes that sparkled.  
“Laura.” she replied, shaking the woman’s hand, “Laura Hollis. But everyone just calls me Laur…”  
They got an electric shock as soon as their palms touched, causing them both to startle slightly. Carmilla held onto Laura’s hand a little more tightly though, giving it a light squeeze, before letting go and holding onto the arm rest.  
“Hmm… interesting.” Carmilla hummed thoughtfully as she searched light brown eyes.  
Laura’s eyes darted from Carmilla to the tv screen in front of her, as she felt her heart race again.  
“Well, in that case I’ll call you something else.” Carmilla said matter-of-factly, before knocking back another shot.  
“What?” Laura asked, confusion furrowing her brow slightly as she tried, and failed to hide the smile growing on her face.  
Carmilla shrugged, “Because you said that _everyone_ calls you Laur.”  
“Yeah… and?” Laura narrowed her eyes playfully at the brunette, trying to get a read on her.  
Carmilla leant over closer to her and stage-whispered, “And I’m not _everyone_.” she winked and felt her heartbeat skip again as she watched the gorgeous girl flush crimson.  
Laura was unable to stop herself from smiling at this woman’s confidence. She picked up the last of Carmilla’s shots and downed it, her stomach flipping from the smile that lit up the brunette face.

“So, are you going to Sydney or is it just a stopover?” Laura wondered aloud.  
Carmilla noticed that Laura had adjusted her position to get more comfortable in the seat beside her, clearly no intention to move any time soon. A small smile playing on her lips now, as this woman’s company was making Carmilla significantly more happy during this long and dull flight.  
“What makes you think that it would just be a stopover, Creampuff?” Carmilla asked, her brow raised in amusement as the shorter girl’s face grew redder still.  
“Just, well I mean… you look like you’ve travelled a lot.” she fumbled for an explanation under the gaze of the woman beside her. She found herself wanting to impress this woman, who she barely knew, but certainly wanted to know more about.  
Carmilla’s laugh was low and raspy, she almost missed it when Laura’s eyes fluttered closed at the sound… almost. A smug smirk lit her face as she pat Laura’s knee reassuringly.  
“It’s okay, Cupcake… no need to go getting all flustered on me.” she winked and laughed again as Laura’s eyes narrowed slightly at her.  
“And I am going to Sydney.” she added, secretly loving the way Laura’s face lit up at this new piece of information.

The plane jolted again and Carmilla’s hand left Laura’s knee to grip onto the armrest tightly. Her eyes shutting tight as she took a deep breath in.  
Laura automatically placed her hand over the brunette’s, her thumb tracing soothing circles onto the back of her hand. An overwhelming need to comfort this woman, shocking both Carmilla and herself.  
The turbulence had passed and her hand was still on Carmilla’s. She watched as the woman released her breath in a long sigh and rest her head back against the headrest.  
Carmilla placed her glasses on the top of her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath in and out before speaking.  
“Sorry if I freaked you out just then. I’m not good with flying.” she admitted, turning her head slightly and eyeing Laura cautiously.  
Laura smiled back and shook her head, “It’s all good.”  
Carmilla couldn’t help but glance down at their hands, a small smile forming on her face.  
Laura liked it when this woman smiled. In the short amount of time she’d known this woman, she’d seen her confident smile, her playful smirk and her adorable grin, but this one she wore now, this one was her favourite. It was genuine. Just a small curve of her lips, but revealed a warm glow behind her eyes, making her look relaxed and comfortable, after just being so tense during the moment of turbulence.  
She wanted to see that smile once more, and so she kept her hand there as if it were normal.

“So, are you going to Sydney or is it just a stopover, Poptart?” Carmilla asked, a part of her hoping she was going to Sydney, just on the off chance that she might be able to see her again during her stay, despite it being a huge city.  
“What is with all the dessert names?” Laura snorted, like full-on snorted, as she laughed and Carmilla chuckled at the mortification written all over the young girl’s face.  
Carmilla gave Laura’s hand a gentle squeeze, silently encouraging her to continue, which she did.  
“I’m going to Sydney. 10 days with my friend LaFontaine.” Laura informed her, signalling down the aisle behind her with her thumb, to where her sleeping friend was.  
Carmilla lifted up off the seat slightly to look behind them, “Ah, I wondered where you came from.” she laughed as Laura nudged her arm playfully, giggling herself.  
Laura’s giggle was the most ridiculously precious thing that Carmilla had ever heard. All she knew in that moment was that she wanted to hear it again and again and again. Memorise it into her brain for when they’ll have to part ways once the plane lands.

“Why’re you going to Sydney in the first place?” she wondered. Immediately regretting her question once the smile on the golden-haired girl, faded.  
“Their grandmother is… passing away… as we speak… and they didn’t want to make the long journey by themselves, and their partner Perry couldn’t take time off work, so I came with them. I only met their grandmother a handful of times, but she was always so funny and full of life and just… she had all these amazing stories to tell.” Laura trailed off, getting lost in her thoughts.  
Carmilla’s smile softened at the fondness in her voice for her friend’s grandmother. It was sweet, she thought.  
“LaF is non-binary… so they use they/them pronouns.” Laura added as an afterthought.  
Carmilla simply nodded understandingly, “I gathered that, Sweetheart.”  
“Old people have the best stories.” Carmilla said then, squeezing her hand gently.  
“They really do.” Laura’s voice was far away. A small smile creeping onto her face as her mind replayed memories in her head.

“I’m going for 10 days too.” Carmilla said suddenly after a few moments of silence, just staring at the girl beside her. Memorising very feature of Laura’s face. She was beautiful. Carmilla never thought of women as beautiful. The ones she found her eye lingering on were hot, but never beautiful, never gorgeous, never with hazelnut eyes as captivating as hers.  
The brown-haired beauty shook out of her thoughts and nodded slowly, Carmilla’s words slowly sinking in.  
“Who knows, maybe we’ll be on the same plane home.” Carmilla laughed.  
An excited grin spread on Laura’s face at the thought, “Hopefully.” she blurted out, her face turning red at the sudden admission.  
Carmilla’s amused smirk was back, as she rolled her eyes at Laura’s bashful behaviour.  
“Maybe we could meet for coffee or something, if you’ve any spare time whilst you’re in Sydney?” Laura suggested, suddenly very nervous because she wanted to see this woman again, but worried that she might not get the chance to.  
“I think I’d like that very much.” Carmilla agreed, her gaze lowering to Laura’s lips as she gently bit down on her own.


	2. The Save

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla bump into each other on the streets of Sydney, a whole week after they met on the flight. Unfortunately, it's in less than ideal circumstances.

Laura found herself wandering the streets of Sydney. LaF was with their family still and wouldn’t get back to the hotel until late. The tiny brunette didn’t want to intrude on the family’s grieving process, so she opted to pay her respects and then explore the city some more whilst she was still here.

It was starting to get dark out and Laura found herself lost in the middle of the bustling city. The Qantas Credit Union Arena was on the opposite side of the road to her as she stood outside of a Holiday Inn, completely lost and with only 2% battery left on her phone.  
A crowd of people were piling out of the stadium, obviously there had been a concert of some sort, and she watched as people bundled into taxis or crossed the road, and went into the pub on the corner to keep the party going.

Laura was stressing out and decided that she’d go and have one drink to calm herself down, before figuring out where her hotel was and how she was going to get to it.  
It was getting darker out, by the second. She reached into her bag, looking for her portable phone charger just as she twisted her ankle on the cracked pavement slab.  
“Ow, fuck!” she sighed, rubbing her ankle.

Four men were standing outside the pub watching her laughing. They approached her, one of them reaching down to help pick up the stuff that fell out of her bag, whilst the others leered at her.  
A slight chill ran down her spine as she watched one lick his lips, looking at her as if she were a piece of meat.  
“I think these are yours.” the man crouched before her spoke with a heavy Australian accent.  
“Um, thanks.” Laura forced a smile, taking her purse and things from him, and putting them back in her bag.  
The other three men all crowded around her slowly, looking her up and down.  
Laura had never been more petrified or felt more violated in her whole life. She took a step back, stumbling into one of them. They put their hands on her waist and she recoiled like a spring.  
“Get off of me!” she said disgustedly.  
The four men looked at each other laughing, obviously drunk out of their minds as they each took a few steps closer to her.  
Laura’s hands began to shake and she didn’t know what to do. The pub’s atmosphere was so loud that she could’ve heard it down the other end of the road.  
_No one would be able to hear me anyway_ , she thought as her heart started racing and her eyes started to water. She looked around frantically, noticing that the streets were now empty.  
_Fuck_ , she thought as she closed her eyes, losing grip of her bag as it slipped through her trembling fingers.

 

“Hey, I’m just gonna go outside for a smoke.” Carmilla shouted to her business associate, who was clearly too wasted to hear a single word she’d said. She hadn’t wanted to go out tonight, but her boss had told her earlier that day on the phone, to do anything she could to close the deal.  
So instead of moping around the hotel room, wondering what the beautiful blushing brunette from the flight was up to, she went out with a group of terribly boring people, for drinks at a place that was ridiculously overcrowded.  
She made her way to the door, dodging in between people as they entered the already overcrowded pub.  
A glimpse of caramel-coloured hair shot through her peripheral vision and she turned to get a better look. 

She watched as four burly men surrounded a woman. A tiny brunette. One of the men stumbled backwards, just enough for Carmilla’s eyes fall upon a very distressed looking Laura. Her blood ran cold as she heard a slight shriek. It was as if her body was working by itself whilst her mind took a few more seconds to catch up, instinct taking over.

“ **There** you are! I told you to text me when you were outside… I said I’d meet you.” Carmilla said loudly, gaining the attention of all the men and the tiny shaking brunette. She widened her eyes ever-so-slightly, in a silent _‘play along’_ , and smiled reassuringly as she walked toward the shaking woman. Barging past one of the guys, she open her arms, brow raising in silent question, asking if Laura was alright.  
She practically fell into Carmilla’s arms, burrowing her head in the crook of her neck. Carmilla’s arms wrapped around her, a relieved sigh coming from her as she felt Laura’s arms wrap around her waist tightly. She could feel her shaking still and a white-hot rage built up within her.  
“Is there a problem here, mates?” Carmilla spat at them, glaring at each of them, whilst doing a purposefully terribly attempt at their accent.  
Each of the men looked at her, seeing the unspoken threat in her eyes, the glint of danger, and shook their heads, leaving the women alone as they stumbled awkwardly back into the pub.

Carmilla felt tears on her shoulder and her heart broke for the woman in her arms. She wanted to kick those men in the balls. Each of them for even _thinking_ what she **knew** they were thinking.  
“Shh, hey… hey, it’s okay.” she said quietly, her hand rubbing the shaking girl’s back soothingly.  
“I thought for sure they were…” Laura mumbled against Carmilla’s shoulder.  
Camilla’s hand reached up to cradle Laura’s head gently, her nimble fingers sifting through the golden strands.  
Laura went quiet when she felt Carmilla’s grip on her shoulders tighten at the thought of what they could’ve, and probably would’ve, done.  
A lump formed in Carmilla’s throat. She wanted to say something like, _‘I’d never have let them do that to you.’_ but truth be told, if she hadn’t’ve been there, there’s no telling what might’ve happened. So instead, she just pulled back sightly to look into Laura’s watery gaze.“I’ll go get my jacket and I’ll walk you back to your hotel… Wait, your friend isn’t here with you are they?” she wondered, looking behind her and into the bar.  
“No, they’re with their family. LaF said they’d be back late, so I decided to explore the city some more, and then it started to get dark out…” Laura was rambling, and Carmilla turned back to face her, her heart breaking again for her.  
“So I tried to find my way back to the hotel, but my phone ran out of battery and I got lost and…” more tears began falling down Laura’s face as her train of thought trailed off into silence.  
Carmilla wiped the tiny brunette’s tears away gently with the pads of her thumbs, before absentmindedly tucking a stray strand of hair behind Laura’s ear.  
“Well, it just so happens that I have some battery left on _my_ phone.” she said suggestively, a small smile curving her lips.  
“I don’t want to ruin your night.” Laura said then, in a small voice as her gaze hit the pavement. Carmilla couldn’t remember a time when she’d seen someone look so vulnerable.

She took a few steps backwards, holding her hand out.  
“You coming?” Carmilla asked, brow raised and a hopeful look in her eyes.  
Laura nodded sheepishly and without a second thought, grabbed onto Carmilla’s hand.  
She guided them through the crowded bar, keeping Laura close behind her.  
“I think I’m gonna call it a night.” Carmilla apologised to the group of people she’d spent most of the night with, unwillingly.  
A couple of them smiled and waved goodbye, but the raven-haired beauty didn’t wait to check if they all knew. Instead, she grabbed her jacket and led the way out of the bar.

Once outside, she took a deep breath of the night air and draped her leather jacket over her arm, before turning to face Laura.  
“So, where we headed, Cutie?” she asked, noticing that Laura still hadn’t let go of her hand yet, and was instead, holding onto it for dear life.  
She smoothed the pad of her thumb over Laura’s knuckles gently.“Hey, it’s alright. No one’s gonna hurt you.” she promised, squeezing the brunette’s hand to gain her attention.  
Laura glanced up from beneath her lashes at Carmilla, she could see the promise was clear in her intense gaze, as well as hear it in her voice. Her eyes trailed down to take in the fiercely protective stance of the woman standing before her. Her gaze lowered to the jeans that the raven-haired woman was wearing and she took note of how well they defined her curves… in all the right places. Biting her lip, she looked up into dark eyes once more and nodded.  
“I… I’m staying at the Waverly Hotel.” she sniffled, pulling her scarf around her more.  
Carmilla’s eyes lit up at this new piece of information and a goofy grin spread on her face.  
“What?” Laura asked, giggling slightly from the excitement on Carmilla’s face.  
“That’s where I’m staying! I can’t believe we haven’t bumped into each other in the week that we’ve been here already?” Carmilla said in disbelief, turning to make her way towards their hotel.

 

They walked in companionable silence for about 10 minutes before Laura spoke up.  
“I can’t believe we haven’t bumped into each other sooner.” she commented, a warm feeling washing over her as she realised that they were still holding each others hand.  
Carmilla glanced over at her, her signature smirk plastered on her face as she raised her brow.  
“You almost sound disappointed… like you missed me. Was our 21 hour and 40 minute flight not enough for you?” she teased, bumping her shoulder into Laura’s.  
The brunette stumbled and bumped her shoulder into Carmilla’s, rolling her eyes but unable to stop from laughing, “You wish.”  
Instead of admitting that yes she did in fact wish that, Carmilla just winked and whispered conspiratorially, “Your secret’s safe with me, Sweetheart.”  
“Shut up!” Laura whined, covering her face with her free hand and resting her head on Carmilla’s shoulder to try and hide her blush.

 

Laura shivered , they were still on their way back to the hotel when Carmilla pulled them to a stop. She unfolded her leather jacket and helped the tiny shivering brunette into it.  
“Thanks, Carm.” the nickname slipping from her lips. Laura was sure she would be as red as a tomato by now, but didn’t care much as she saw the look that Carmilla gave her. It wasn’t like the predatory stares of the men from before. It was a look filled with affection and a familiar warmth. She liked the way Carmilla made her feel, despite having only met for the first time a week ago, on an aeroplane, but for some inexplicable reason, she felt like she’d known this woman her whole life.  
“No worries.” Carmilla shrugged, slipping her hand into Laura’s again, this time interlacing their fingers, before walking towards the hotel again.

 

A wave of heat hit them as the automatic doors to the hotel lobby opened. They both shivered involuntarily, as the warmth engulfed them both, thawing them out from the long cold walk they’d just taken.  
Pressing the button and waiting for the elevator, Carmilla peeked out the corner of her eye to find Laura cover her mouth with her free hand as she yawned.  
Her nose scrunched up and her eyes closed tight as she yawned. Carmilla could tell by the way Laura’s pace had slowed on their walk back, that she was exhausted.

 

They made it to 6th floor and Laura stepped out, still holding onto Carmilla’s hand as she walked towards her hotel room.  
Carmilla’s palm began to sweat as she suddenly realised that she liked this woman. She _**really**_ liked her, and didn’t want to just sleep with her and then forget about her.

As if she could forget about _**her**_.

Laura slid her passkey into the door and tiredly pushed the door open. Carmilla stood still in the doorway, letting go of the tired brunette’s hand.  
Laura turned around and frowned slightly, biting the inside of her cheek. She leant against the door, staring up at the dark-haired woman.  
“Thank you.” she breathed. A thousand different reasons why, behind those two words.  
A small and shy smile spread on Carmilla’s face.  
“You’re welcome.” she searched Laura’s gaze to make doubly sure that she was alright. Her mind, subconsciously, calculating all the faint freckles that were on the golden-haired girl’s face.

Laura reached up slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind Carmilla’s ear, before leaning in closer.  
She kissed Carmilla’s cheek gently, lingering for a moment before pulling back.  
Carmilla smirked at her before pulling her in for a brief hug.  
“I’m the level above… in 702 if you need anything.” she smiled warmly at the tired brunette, before making her way back to the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doesn't feel worth it to continue... sorry if you wasted your time reading this. Hopefully, it wasn't too awful.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think, Creampuffs? Let me know what you think!


End file.
